The lion and the tiger are stronger, but the wolf never performs in the circus. All species have adapted in certain ways for their survival. Wolves are probably the most resilient and independent.
Nearly twenty thousand years ago, some less aggressive wolves started scavenging near the human settlements. Some of them got friendly with the humans. Over a longer period of time, the domesticated wolves were known to be the dogs. Some of them were kept by humans as pets. Some continued as stray. For so many years, dogs are living with the human settlements. In the villages and in the cities. They must have adopted to live with the humans. Otherwise why would the co-existence continue for a thousands of years.
Today, when a garbage collecting van goes around collecting garbage in the city, a bunch of dogs run behind it, in the hope of getting some food. I am unhappy from this usual sight. Why the man's best friend has to run after a garbage van in search of food. I used to think that I was being a part of the problem. I wanted to be a part of a solution. A stray dog named Shaggy lived in front of our building. We usually had leftover chapati and rice after the dinner. We prefer to eat freshly cooked food every day. I mixed some cat food with the chapati and rice, and gave it to the stray dog Shaggy. This solved two problems. No leftover food in the home. And I am a part of a solution. I could not solve the problem of the entire city. But I solved the problem in my own world.
Along with Shaggy, his young brother Sheru and their mother Kaluli came to eat food. When monsoon arrived and the rains started, the trio had no shelter. When they were sick, they suffered on their own. One step at a time, I was solving the problems. Then I came to know a 70+ young uncle staying nearby who gives food to many dogs in the neighborhood. And a lady operates a van giving food to may be lots of dogs in the vicinity. Why? They want to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem.
By nature, dogs are scavengers. They eat whatever they find around. In the cities, they usually eat whatever edible they find in the roadside garbage thrown by humans. In doing so, sometimes dogs eat non-edible things and they vomit. Sometimes they get hurt by the sharp objects in the garbage. Sometimes dogs and cats are run over by the vehicles on the road. They die instantly or are left to die. Sometimes they are deliberately hurt by humans. The number of humans attacked or killed by the dogs are negligible as compared to the number of dogs attacked or killed by the humans.
What if a dog does not get to eat anything for a few days? Would it not search for food all the time - the basic instinct of survival. And what if a group of dogs had nothing to eat for a few days? Would they not try to hunt for an easy food - the basic instinct of survival amplified in the group. A solution for this problem is - if the dogs do not starve for a few days, they won't hunt.
In my neighborhood, those who are part of the solution have formed an organization, BARC - Bavdhan Animal Rescue Community. I am happy to be a part of it. What does BARC do?
- Feeding the stray dogs
- Vaccinating the stray dogs
- Neutering the stray dogs
- Medical treatment of the stray dogs and cats that are ill
- Arranging adoption for the stray dogs that are abandoned by humans
The wolf never performs in the circus. But the dogs have learned to live along with the humans. Have you learned to live along with the dogs? Have the humans in your neighborhood learned to live along with the dogs and cats in your neighborhood?
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